Publication in Class D

I

MMM

"I remember a certain holy day
in the dusk of the Year, in the dusk of the Equinox of
Osiris, when first I beheld thee visibly; when first the
dreadful issue was fought out; when the Ibis-headed One
charmed away the strife. I remember thy first kiss, even
as a maiden should. Nor in the dark byways was there
another: thy kisses abide." --- LIBER LAPIDIS
LAZULI. VII. 15. 16.

Be seated in thine Asana, wearing the robe of
a Neophyte, the hood drawn.

It is night, heavy and hot, there are
no stars. Not one breath of wind stirs the
surface of the sea, that is thou. No fish play in
thy depths.

Let a Breath rise and ruffle the waters. This
also thou shalt feel playing upon thy skin. It
will disturb thy meditation twice or thrice,
after which thou shouldst have conquered this
distraction. But unless thou first feel it, that
Breath hath not arisen.

Next, the night is riven by the lightning flash.
This also shalt thou feel in thy body, which
shall shiver and leap with the shock, and that
also must both be suffered and overcome.

After the lightning flash, resteth in the zenith
a minute point of light. And that light shall
radiate until a right cone be established upon
the sea, and it is day.
With this thy body shall be rigid, automatically;
and this shalt thou let endure, withdrawing
thyself into thine heart in the form of an
upright Egg of blackness; and therein shalt thou
abide for a space.

When all this is perfectly and easily performed
at will, let the aspirant figure to himself a
struggle with the whole force of the Universe. In
this he is only saved by his minuteness. But in
the end he is overcome by Death, who covers him
with a black cross.
Let his body fall supine with arms outstretched.

So lying, let him aspire fervently unto the Holy
Guardian Angel.

Now let him resume his former posture.
Two and twenty times shall he figure to himself
that he is bitten by a serpent, feeling even in
his body the poison thereof. And let each bite be
healed by an eagle or hawk, spreading its wings
above his head, and dropping thereupon a healing
dew. But let the last bite be so terrible a pang
at the nape of the neck that he seemeth to die,
and let the healing dew be of such virtue that he
leapeth to his feet.

Let there be now placed within his egg a red
cross, then a green cross, then a golden cross,
then a silver cross; or those things which these
shadow forth. Herein is silence; for he that hath
rightly performed the meditation will understand
the inner meaning hereof, and it shall serve as a
test of himself and his fellows.

Let him now remain in the Pyramid or Cone of
Light, as an Egg, but no more of blackness.

Then let his body be in the position of the
Hanged Man, and let him aspire with all his force
unto the Holy Guardian Angel.

The grace having been granted unto him, let him
partake mystically of the Eucharist of the Five
Elements and let him proclaim Light in Extension;
yea, let him proclaim Light in Extension.

II

AAA

"These loosen the swathings of
the corpse; these unbind the feet of Osiris, so that the
flaming God may rage through the firmament with his
fantastic spear." Liber Lapidis Lazuli.
VII. 3.

Be seated in thine Asana, or recumbent in
Shavasana, or in the position of the dying
Buddha.

Think of thy death; imagine the various
diseases that may attack thee, or accidents
overtake thee. Picture the process of death,
applying always to thyself.
(A useful preliminary practice is to read
textbooks of Pathology, and to visit museums and
dissecting-rooms.)

Continue this practice until death is complete;
follow the corpse through the stages of
embalming, wrapping and burial.

Now imagine a divine breath entering thy
nostrils.

Next, imagine a divine light enlightening the
eyes.

Next, imagine the divine voice awakening the
ears.

Next, imagine a divine kiss imprinted on the
lips.

Next, imagine the divine energy informing the
nerves and muscles of the body, and concentrate
on the phenomenon which will already have been
observed in 3, the restoring of the circulation.

Last, imagine the return of the reproductive
power, and employ this to the impregnation of the
Egg of light in which man is bathed.

Now represent to thyself that this Egg is the
Disk of the Sun, setting in the west.

Let it sink into blackness, borne in the bark of
heaven, upon the back of the holy cow Hathor. And
it may be that thou shalt hear the moaning
thereof.

Let it become blacker than all blackness. And in
this meditation thou shalt be utterly without
fear, for that the blankness that will appear
unto thee is a thing dreadful beyond all thy
comprehension.
And it shall come to pass that if thou hast well
and properly performed this meditation that on a
sudden thou shalt hear the drone and booming of a
Beetle.

Now then shall the Blackness pass, and with rose
and gold shalt thou arise in the East, with the
cry of an Hawk resounding in thine ear. Shrill
shall it be and harsh.

At the end shalt thou rise and stand in the
mid-heaven, a globe of glory. And therewith shall
arise the mighty Sound that holy men have likened
unto the roaring of a Lion.

Then shalt thou withdraw thyself from the Vision,
gathering thyself into the divine form of Osiris
upon his throne.

Then shalt thou repeat audibly the cry of triumph
of the god re-arisen, as it shall have been given
unto thee by thy Superior.

And this being accomplished, thou mayest enter
again into the Vision, that thereby shall be
perfected in Thee.

After this shalt thou return into the Body, and
give thanks unto the Most High God IAIDA, yea
unto the Most High God IAIDA.

Mark well that this operation should be performed
if it be possible in a place set apart and
consecrated to the Works of the Magick of Light.
Also that the Temple should be ceremonially open
as thou hast knowledge and skill to perform, and
that at the end thereof the closing should be
most carefully accomplished. But in the
preliminary practice it is enough to cleanse
thyself by ablution, by robing, and by the
rituals of the Pentagram and Hexagram.
0-2 should be practised at first, until some
realisation is obtained; and the practice should
always be followed by a divine invocation of
Apollo or of Isis or of Jupiter or of Serapis.
Next, after a swift summary of 0-2 practice 3-7.
This being mastered, add 8.
Then add 9-13.
Then being prepared and fortified, well fitted
for the work, perform the whole meditation at one
time. And let this be continued until perfect
success be attained therein. For this is a mighty
meditation and holy, having power even upon
Death, yea, having power even upon Death.
(Note by Fra. O.M. At any time during this
meditation the concentration may bring about
Samadhi. This is to be feared and shunned, more
than any other breaking of control, for that it
is the most tremendous of the forces which
threaten to obsess. There is also some danger of
acute delirious melancholia at point 1.)

III

SSS

"Thou art a beautiful thing,
whiter than a woman in the column of this vibration.
"I shoot up vertically like an arrow, and become
that Above.
"But it is death, and the flame of the pyre.
"Ascend in the flame of the pyre, O my Soul!
"Thy God is like the cold emptiness of the utmost
heaven, into which thou radiatest thy little light.
"When Thou shalt know me, O empty God, my flame
shall utterly expire in thy great N.O.X." Liber
Lapidis Lazuli. I. 36-40.

Be seated in thine Asana, preferably the
Thunderbolt.
It is essential that the spine be vertical.

In this practice the cavity of the
brain is the Yoni; the spinal cord is the Lingam.

Concentrate thy thought of adoration in the
brain.

Now begin to awaken the spine in this manner.
Concentrate thy thought of thyself in the base of
the spine, and move it gradually up a little at a
time.
By this means thou wilt become conscious of the
spine, feeling each vertebra as a separate
entity. This must be achieved most fully and
perfectly before the further practice is begun.

Next, adore the brain as before, but figure to
thyself its content as infinite. Deem it to be
the womb of Isis, or the body of Nuit.

Next, identify thyself with the base of the spine
as before, but figure to thyself its energy as
infinite. Deem it to be the phallus of Osiris or
the being of Hadit.

These two concentrations 4 and 5 may be pushed to
the point of Samadhi. Yet lose not control of the
will; let not Samadhi be thy master herein.

Now then, being conscious both of the brain and
the spine, and unconscious of all else, do thou
imagine the hunger of the one for the other; the
emptiness of the brain, the ache of the spine,
even as the emptiness of space and the
aimlessness of Matter.
And if thou hast experience of the Eucharist in
both kinds, it shall aid thine imagination
herein.

Let this agony grow until it be insupportable,
resisting by will every temptation. Not until
thine whole body is bathed in sweat, or it may be
in sweat of blood, and until a cry of intolerable
anguish is forced from thy closed lips, shalt
thou proceed.

Now let a current of light, deep azure flecked
with scarlet, pass up and down the spine,
striking as it were upon thyself that art coiled
at the base as a serpent.
Let this be exceedingly slow and subtle; and
though it be accompanied with pleasure, resist;
and though it be accompanied with pain, resist.

This shalt thou continue until thou art
exhausted, never relaxing the control. Until thou
canst perform this one section 9 during a whole
hour, proceed not. And withdraw from the
meditation by an act of will, passing into a
gentle Pranayama without Kumbhakham, and
meditating on Harpocrates, the silent and
virginal God.

Then at last, being well-fitted in body and mind,
fixed in peace, beneath a favourable heaven of
stars, at night, in calm and warm weather, mayst
thou quicken the movement of the light until it
be taken up by the brain and the spine,
independently of thy will.

If in this hour thou shouldst die, is it not
written, "Blessed are the dead that die in
the Lord"? Yea, Blessed are the dead that
die in the Lord!

The text of this Aleister Crowley material is made available here only for personal and non-commercial use. This material is provided here in a convenient searchable form as a study resource for those seekers looking for it in their research. For any commercial use, please contact Ordo Templi Orientis.

If you have found this material useful or enlightening, you may also be interested in